Can You Handle People Being Unimpressed With You?

Read Time ~3 Minutes

Leadership Lesson: Jesus brings you low to bring you high.

God values US more than we can imagine, but HE is NEVER impressed with us (except possibly for our FAITH – see Luke 7:9).

We should work with the Holy Spirit to not be impressed with ourselves either.

This doesn’t mean that we don’t have a healthy appreciation for the way God made us, the opportunities and gifts He has given us, or the ways He has mercifully used us in the past.

It DOES mean that we should consistently emphasize within our hearts that we’re not the hero of the story.

Jesus is.

God can’t trust a leader that can’t handle people being entirely unimpressed or disinterested in them.

Pride always hurts us, blinds us, and removes grace from our lives (James 4:6).

That is why the Holy Spirit is trying to reduce our prideful

Over-valuing of our own opinions,
Over-demanding of our preferences, and
Under-esteeming of those around us.

Sometimes we are offended that someone doesn’t seem to value us or our opinion enough (which may be true), but this can actually be Jesus placing us in a lower position because we were attempting to exalt ourselves.

In Luke 14:7-14, Jesus tells a parable of dinner party guests who were picking out places of honor at a feast they’d been invited to. Jesus warned that the best strategy was for guests to take the place of LEAST honor so that the MASTER could then promote them appropriately.

But if they took to high a seat, the Host (God) would correct their presumption and move them lower.

We, too, prematurely try to take seats that He has not yet given us (or perhaps doesn’t even want us in).

This can manifest in our lives when people

Won’t give us certain opportunities,
Won’t open doors for us, or
Won’t immediately recognize our giftedness or expertise.

If we get bitter, go into a rant, or just have a complaining heart, we may be resisting the very humbling that would actually precede our promotion.

When we promote ourselves, insist on our own way, or push our way through, Jesus will lovingly take it upon Himself to humble us. This correction isn’t to embarrass us, but it IS to teach us humility, patience, and a keener sensitivity to His will over our own.

What we miss about God’s humbling is that He is actually trying to promote us.